If you’re like us, we’re not producing a whole lot of 360º VR yet, but we do like to have the important stuff in the shot. With the new Rylo 360º action cam, you can shoot basically everything around you, then use their iPhone app to edit it to the field of view you want. If you’ve ever captured a sick line only to find yourself tilting your head up hoping it’ll magically improve the camera angle, this is for you.
The camera uses two 7mm-equivalent 208º wide angle lenses, one on the front, the other on the back. This provides seamless 360º footage that’s automatically stitched together. Nothing is invisible to the Rylo. And that’s not all…
Beyond always getting the right shot, two more features stand out: Instant shareability through the app, and built-in digital stabilization. Really, there’s a ton more, but we’ll start with these two:
Once you’re done shooting, simply connect the device to your iPhone (Android support is coming soon, but it’s only iOS at launch). Inside the app, you can edit your footage to control the angle throughout the entire video. This provides amazing control over where it’s “pointing” (or, rather, where we’re looking) throughout the entire video. The sample above shows a cool example on the roller coasters. You can also include a picture-in-picture of the rear camera to show your facial expressions during the film.
There’s also the ability to create glass-smooth panning…which is a game changer for single-person video shoots. Just set the camera alongside the trail, ride past it, then make it “pan to follow” in post production. Making that even easier is a set-to-follow mode where you can tell it to stay tracked to a specific thing in any clip. Or just leave it all intact for a pannable 360º video.
The stabilization feature means no more shaky shots as you’re pummeling down the mountain. The rise of chest-mounted gimbals have raised our collective expectations for smooth, quality footage, and the Rylo appears to do a lot of that internally. It’s not optical stabilization, but the examples on their website are impressive.
For off-the-bike fun, it also has a 6K panoramic photo mode, and can create time-lapse footage from regular video. Just set it still, turn it on, then speed up the resulting footage to create a faux time lapse with the click of a button.
RYLO TECH DETAILS
Basic specs include:
- Anodized aluminum body
- OLED display screen (for settings only)
- 208º FOV / 7mm equivalent wide angle lenses / f/2.8 aperture
- 4K 360º recording
- 30fps
- 16x timelapse export
- 6K panoramic photo
- Removable Li-Ion battery with 60 minute recording time
- Integrated battery charging
- 16GB MicroSD card included, expandable to 256GB
- 108g (3.8oz) / 72.5mm x 37.0mm x 42.7mm (HxWxD)
Perhaps the only thing it doesn’t have is a built-in video screen, which would be nice for instant reviews…except you really don’t need them anymore. Priced at $499, it’s a few hundred less than the GoPro Fusion, and it’s available for pre-order now. The iOS version ships in a few weeks, the Android model is expected in early 2018. It includes the camera, the Everyday Case with handle and GoPro-style mount, battery, 16GB microSD card, pouch and USB charge and Lightning sync cables. Extra batteries are $24, and a water-resistant case is coming soon.
